There’s no question about it—trying to maintain I-9 compliance and staying up-to-date on new rules and regulations can seem pretty overwhelming. Even the most seasoned staffing professionals will tell you that avoiding I-9 violations requires meticulous management of your hiring and record-keeping processes. So what are the most common I-9 mistakes?

We surveyed a group of prominent attorneys who serve in the fields of immigration and employment and asked that very question. In this post and in our next few blog posts, we’re going to take a look at the 5 most common I-9 mistakes made by employers and provide tips about how to avoid those mistakes. It should make for some interesting and informative reading, so be sure to subscribe if you haven’t already done so.

Tip #1: Follow the three-day rule.

Once you’ve hired an applicant, the Form I-9 must be completed within a specific timeframe. Try to remember the three-day rule when thinking about the I-9 process:

• Once an applicant has been offered a position, make sure that Section 1 of the I-9 form has been completed by the first day of work.
• Section 2 of the form must be completed no later than 3 business days after the employee begins working.

And take note: if you’re hiring an employee for a period of fewer than three days, both sections must be completed by the employee’s first day of paid work.

If you don’t want to wait for our next blog entries to read more tips to avoid common I-9 mistakes, check out our free guide—it includes all five potentially costly errors.

And let us know: What kind of system do you have in place to make sure that the Form I-9 is completed on time?

The I-9 form is standard paperwork that must be filled out by each person that is hired at a new job. It is a single page form, but many people make mistakes when filling it out that can cost them money and time. It is essential that this form be filled out correctly to avoid employer penalties.

1. Missing or Incorrect Forms
   Common mistakes that are made when I-9 forms are being filled out include incorrect dates, transposed information and incomplete information. I-9 forms may also be misplaced by employers, which can lead to costly fines. Employers should also be sure that they ask for the correct identification documents from each employee.
2. Not Complying with The Three-Day Rule
   Regulations state that I-9 forms should be completed before the employee has been employed with the company for three business days. The employee and employer must complete the entire form and the employer must receive and verify identification documents within three days to avoid having to pay steep fines.
3. Not Re-Verifying Information
   Employers of people with some citizenship statuses are required to update and track the employee's documentation. Employers must remember to always have valid identification on file and request new copies of documents that are expiring soon.
4. Ensuring Identification Documents are valid
   Managers who are hiring employees are required to ensure that the identification documents that are provided to them are valid. They also must ensure that they have the proper combination of documents from the three lists. The documents presented with the I-9 form may be from list A or lists B and C.
5. Not Maintaining Documents Properly
   ICE regulations require every employer to destroy all I-9 forms from their employees either three years after the employee's hire date or a year after the employment has been terminated, whichever length of time is greater.
6. Not Having Proper Supporting Documentation for E-Verify Matching
   E-Verify introduced a photo matching system in 2010 to prevent prospective employees from using fake identification to obtain employment. This system requires employers to compare the onscreen photo from their system with the photo that is printed on the identification provided by the employee.

ICE also requires employers to maintain copies of each employee’s photo identification, in addition to verifying the image using the E-verify system. Even when employers know the rules and do their best to follow them, it is possible for mistakes to be made. Every employer should have a system of checks and balances in place to ensure that their company is following all of the proper procedures in regards to I-9 forms.

I-9Compliance.com provides a free and easy method of helping you stay on top of your I-9 forms. Their electronic compliance solution will help you "audit" your I-9 forms before ICE does, keeping you ready to respond to any I-9 request by the government at a moment's notice. I-9compliance.com can help take away one of the major headaches of doing business in this era of increased immigration enforcement.

Since November of 1986, the US Department of Immigration (now in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security) requires all employers to complete an I-9 Work Authorization form for every new employee hired. The I-9 form is the official determining factor verifying one’s permission to work in any company within the United States. While only a single form, filling it out can be somewhat imposing and verifying and tracking these forms for an entire company can be a huge challenge.

Yet, services are available to outsource these tasks to companies that will help you with the overall verification and tracking process. And the beauty of it all is that many of them not only handle the paperwork for you but also avoid using paper to do it - thus being greener as well.

A number of I-9 outsourcing companies (many of them Law firms) provide for a process that will completely automate your internal I-9 verification needs. Many provide you with a web site that allows you to internally do a "quick check" based on the potential employee's social security number. Then, they can assist you with scanning and e-filing of all records pertaining to the required forms of ID. These records can be available to you remotely or provided electronically for local storage. Additionally, if issues with the verification process arise or if problems exist for current employees, these companies (again, many of them Law firms) stand ready to assist.

But these companies don't just simply provide assistance with the actual I-9 verification process. They also provide services that can review your internal HR practices and guide you in keeping your standard operating procedures up to ... standard. Many provide "precautionary audits" that review your internal HR structure without the stress associated with an actual government review. This can save not only huge amounts of time in having to potentially re-verify your personnel but the pressure that can be associated with a government audit.

If you are fully staffed in your HR department (as well as your Legal department) with a sound process and have all the immigration expertise you need ... great! But for many, having access to these types of skills and resources, ones dedicated specifically to this process, is invaluable.